For the Better
by CushiKitten92
Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance? Hiccup/Toothless if you squint, but can be just friendship.
1. Better

Title: Better

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Dawns in Burk were usually unnoticeable. There were no colors that danced in the sky, or birds that sang that didn't sing at any other time of the day. Yup, dawns in Burk were as unnoticeable as dawns could get. Usually. Which is why this dawn, while spectacular in its own right, was especially spectacular in Burk. Sadly, Toothless was watching it alone. It wasn't the first pretty dawn he'd watched, alone or otherwise, but he thought it was a pity Hiccup was missing it.

Hiccup, oblivious to the dawn outside, was working in Gobber's blacksmith shop. He ran a sleeve across his forehead as he squinted at the brightly heated metal through the darkened glass in front of his eyes. While it had been Gobber's idea to start making glass (one of Burk's more expensive imports) using the dragons, Hiccup had been the one to suggest wearing darkened glasses over their eyes, so that looking at the white-hot metals wouldn't hurt their eyes. Gobber had laughed, and said that was for weaklings. Hiccup didn't mind. The glasses helped him see through the glare of hot metals, making his hammer blows much more accurate. These extremely accurate hammer blows were now being used to make another mechanism for Toothless's saddle. One he was kicking himself for not thinking of earlier.

"You should bring that dragon in with you, Hiccup. I think he's scaring away some customers."

Gobber the Belch entered the forge area of his blacksmith shop with all the care of Gronckle, which is not very much at all. Hiccup would have been startled, if he hadn't been so used to it.

'_Must not have heard the bell' _Hiccup thought to himself. The bell was another of his ideas. It hung above the door, chiming merrily whenever someone came in. Being Vikings, the people of Burk were generally loud people, and thus gave Hiccup plenty of warning whenever they game into the store. Dragons, however, were Another Matter entirely. The Terrors, in particular, were prone to sneaking into the forge to see Hiccup. While this wasn't a problem in itself, they got tangled up in Hiccup's feet if he didn't know they were there (and Thor knows he didn't need any help tripping over things.) He paused, shuddering a bit as he remembered one particularly _nasty_ fall that had nearly crushed the baby Terror at his feet and sent him tumbling into the forge fire. He would have too, if Gobber hadn't been there to grab him by the scruff of his neck. Speaking of which…

"Hiccup!" Bellowed Gobber as tripped over the saddle parts the boy had left lying all over the workshop floor.

"Sorry, Gobber." Hiccup visibly flinched at the crashing noises behind him. _'Hope nothing's too damaged'. _He continued working."I'll fix it as soon as I'm done with this."

Gobber grumbled as he put away the tools Hiccup had used. The Saddle itself (and all those complicated bits attached to it), he noted crossly, were meticulously arranged on the large work table beside Hiccup. Gobber took a moment to look at the boy, hand on his hip. _'He hasn't changed a bit,'_ the old Viking thought. _'Same skinny little hiccup he's always been.'_ Gobber smiled _'Wouldn't have it any other way, though.'_

The two of them continued working in companionable silence, the bell chiming as people dropped off swords to be sharpened, shields to be repaired, and the odd measurements for a new dragon saddle. The sun was at its highest (or just about), when Hiccup finally drew his sleeve across his forehead, letting out a breath as he did so.

"Whoo, I'm done!" said Hiccup, exuberantly. Gobber looked up from his work.

"Already?" But Hiccup was already gone.

"Be back after lunch!" The bell chimed merrily as he left.

**A/N:** This is just the prologue, though the following chapters probably won't be much longer than this. I write faster when I don't put too much pressure on making the chapters long.

Not too much action or Toothless in this one. That will change, obviously. Thanks for reading!


	2. Out with the Old, In with the New

Title: Out with the Old, In with the New

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Disclaimer: I do not own, this is true. I make no money, please don't sue.

"Come on, Toothless, Please?" Hiccup panted, as he leaned on his knees for support.

For the past half hour or so, he had been chasing Toothless around Their Lake, trying to get the Night Fury to stay still, so he could replace the tailfin part of his saddle. To be fair, the expression on the dragon's face told him that he'd wear it, eventually, he just wanted Hiccup to work for it. And work Hiccup did. He was sweaty, dirty, and tired. It was his dad's fault, actually. He'd told Hiccup that his leg would heal faster the more he used it. Toothless had been in the room, and that had been that.

_/You're tired?/ _Toothless asked. Hiccup smiled.

For a while now, Hiccup had been learning Dragonese from Toothless. Dragonese was the language dragons used to speak to each other. It was a difficult language to learn, involving clicks, whistles, and a whole new system of sequential grammar. Hiccup could barely speak it, but he understood some of it, and Toothless made sure to speak slowly and simply to accommodate him.

/_Yes. Hiccup tired._/

He sat down, trying to get his breath back. As Toothless moved to lie down beside him, he couldn't help but be excited. This new design was the best yet, and he was proud of it. The mechanism that controlled the tailfin was a marvel of engineering, involving these things called _gears_. He'd gotten the idea from the Roman books in the library. Most of the books there were Roman, actually, most probably loot taken from boarding cargo ships leaving the Roman Empire. Few Vikings wanted to read, fewer could read Latin, and the only people who wanted to and could read Latin were Hiccup and his grandfather.

'_This is going to be great!'_ Hiccup thought. His expression must have been contagious, because Toothless was wriggling with excitement, so eager was he to start flying.

"Settle down, buddy!" He laughed. He couldn't tear the grin off his face as he crawled over to Toothless's tail. Hiccup switched the fins and then stood to put the old tail into a small crack in one of the large boulders around Their Lake. Already inside it was Hiccup's old dagger (rusty from disuse), and a spare change of clothes (too small by now) in case he needed it.

As Hiccup walked away, Toothless swished his tail from left to right. _'Heavier than usual'_ He thought. This was strange, because for the past few months, Hiccup had made the thing lighter and lighter. Not that Toothless minded the extra weight. The last heavy fin he'd worn had thin blades on its edge. It was fun to have, but Hiccup had declared it too dangerous to wear on a daily basis when the Night Fury had accidentally sliced through a weight bearing rafter in Hiccup's house. Stoick had been maaad…

Toothless brought his tail around, to see why it felt like there were things pinching on his remaining fin, but Hiccup chose that moment to swing himself onto his saddle. He took off!

'_Ah, this is the life.' _Toothless thought. This was where they felt most at home, most at peace. Just the two of them and the sky. _'His pedal work's a little stiff today.'_ The Night Fury noticed. It was a lot stiff actually, but Toothless found that he didn't mind. Flights like these were getting fewer and farther in between. Not only did Hiccup have Pirate Lessons with the rest of his peers (Which he was horrible at, and no one was surprised), but he helped some of the other Vikings with their dragons.

Yes, flights like these were to be treasured. Toothless stopped thinking for a while and just let his body soar. He didn't even notice Hiccup take his foot off the pedal-stirrup thing that controlled his fake fin. You couldn't really blame Toothless, though, for not knowing. Because it had never happened before, not on purpose. Because even without Hiccup's efforts, they _kept on flying_.

**A/N:** The plot thickens. I hope. I think a lot of you know where I'm going with this.


	3. What do you mean, it's not Awesome?

Title: What do you mean it's not Awesome?

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Disclaimer: I do not own, this is true. I make no money, please don't sue.

For the first time, Toothless was mad, actually _angry_ with Hiccup. He'd been angry _at_ him plenty of times, of course. Toothless had been angry at him when the boy had first come looking for him and (almost) tried to kill him. He'd been angry at Hiccup for putting himself in danger in the metal-cage thing by fighting that Monstrous Nightmare alone (What had he been _thinking_?). But this was different. This time, Hiccup had done something completely and irrevocably wrong.

'_And he wasn't going to tell me about it!'_ Toothless thought, seething.

He'd had to find out for himself. Hiccup had been working nonstop on the saddle, taking it off every day to work on it at night, and putting it back on the next day so they could fly. Toothless didn't even notice that he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes until it was too late. Of course, what he had noticed was the black half-circles under Hiccup's eyes. He'd seen the boy limp when he thought no one was looking, heard the tired sighs and sleepy yawns that came with no sleep. He just didn't put two and two together until it was too late.

They'd been flying along, everything was fine, and then Toothless heard a noise. It was unlike anything else he'd ever heard, rather small, but distinct. He _knew_ he had heard it before. And he nearly _fell right out of the sky_ when he realized just _where_ he'd heard it before. It was the sound of Hiccup's small (and rather endearing) snores. Hiccup had fallen asleep. _Right there in the saddle._ If Hiccup was asleep...

..that meant _no one was controlling his fake fin!_

Toothless panicked! His flying suddenly become erratic. This was impossible! He held his wings as stiff and as straight as he could, hoping a really good updraft would somehow let them glide back to land.

But nothing happened. He was still flying! But in his panic, he'd stirred Hiccup. Toothless decided to wake him before anything else could go wrong.

_Slap!_

Hiccup woke up. Kinda. "Toothless," He mumbled "What's wrong with you?"

_/What's wrong with me? What's wrong with __**me?!**_/Toothless screeched. /_I'll __**show**__ you what's 'wrong with me'!_/

The Furious Night Fury dove into the icy sea around Burk, and came up, spinning. Hiccup gasped at the shock of the cold water.

"Toothless, what's wrong!? I can't understand a word you're saying!" Hiccup sputtered, (/_Understand __**this!**_/) but Toothless wasn't listening. Again and again, he dove into the water, until Hiccup put his foot down. Literally. Hiccup put the pedal into 'soar' position, and Toothless reacted on instinct. In no time at all, their flight evened out. But the damage was done. Neither spoke a word as they sailed back to Burk.

The moment they reached Their Lake, Toothless landed, gracelessly. Too furious to bother bending down to help Hiccup off, he swished his tail to his front to get a closer look. Small clips attached his remaining tailfin to impossibly thin metal rods to a box-like contraption strapped to his tail. The fake fin had a similar set-up that led to the same box. Toothless watched, fascinated, as the fake fin was pulled to mimic the movements of his real fin. Of course, when flying, they weren't always in the same position, but with this thing, he could…

Toothless's thoughts raced, and his blood suddenly ran cold. Hiccup leaned down in the saddle to take a look at his creation as well.

"Um, it's pretty good, huh, Toothless?" He said, a note of apology in his voice.

Suddenly, Toothless sat up. Hiccup, who'd already taken off the safety harness that attached him to Toothless (He _was_ about to get off, theoretically.), fell to the ground, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?! That could have really hurt, you—"

/_Take Off_/ Toothless said. It was a demand, not a request. He spoke to Hiccup like a hatchling, to make sure he understood. Hiccup would have been offended, if Toothless hadn't looked and sounded so incredibly serious.

"Wha—" Hiccup started, but Toothless wasn't having any of it.

/_Off. Now. Toothless not like the most the most._/

"Why?" Hiccup asked, genuinely baffled. "This thing can let you fly on your own without m—"

/_Off now, or break by Toothless_/ Apparently, Hiccup was Not Allowed to finish his sentences.

"I don't understand," Hiccup said as he undid the straps that held the box-thing in place, and then unclipped it from both tailfins. Without it, just the regular mechanism was back. Toothless wouldn't be able to fly again, not without Hiccup, at least. This was not going according to Hiccup's Plan.

"I don't understand" He said again. Then he went back to his house in Burk, leaving Toothless all alone there, sulking. For the rest of the day, and the day after that, Toothless didn't leave Their Lake. He was too busy being Angry with Hiccup. But when it was clear that Hiccup wasn't coming back to apologize, Toothless decided that he would go to his human instead, to _make_ him apologize. And maybe make him understand as well.

**A/N:** Forget 'the plot thickens'. How about 'the plot thins'? Despite that, I think this may be the longest chapter in this story so far. Please don't forget to review! ANY type of feedback would be appreciated, and would make me extremely happy. ^_^

Also, if you didn't get it, the slap thing was the thing that Toothless did in the movie, not an actual slap. Remember, when they were just learning how to fly, and Hiccup kept bumping them into things? And Toothless slapped him for it? That's the same slap.


	4. If I laid in our Bed

Title: Would you forgive me if I laid in your bed?

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Disclaimer: I do not own, this is true. I make no money, please don't sue.

**To ****Narilyte****:** It's intentional. Think if it as someone saying they really really don't like something. The repetition is for emphasis, the syntax is just different.

**To Just Me:** It's not so much about the prosthesis as it is about…something else.

When Hiccup got home, it was definitely evening, and the house was quiet. It took him a moment to remember that his father, Stoick the Vast, was out preparing for the trip to Bog Burglar Island. The house was dark, and cold, and felt empty without Stoick or Toothless in it. He shivered, feeling lonelier than he had just a second ago. Then Hiccup saw that the hearth fire had been left banked, and he felt a little better. His dad must have left it lit, so Hiccup wouldn't be cold when he got back.

It didn't take him very long to get the fire roaring again. As used as he was to Toothless lighting fires for him, Hiccup would always have a knack for burning things (intentionally or otherwise). After stoking the fire, he went to the kitchen, thinking of ordinary things, to keep his mind off the thing that he'd be thinking of if he wasn't already thinking of something else that was ordinary, unlike the thing he wasn't thinking of.

'_Confusing yourself works too,'_ He thought.

He fixed himself a small meal from the house's private larder (most meals were eaten in the great hall, but he didn't feel like leaving the house right now), and returned to sit in front of the fire. He wondered how Camicaze the Bog Burglar was doing. Camicaze was one of his best friends, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that she was a Bog Burglar. They didn't see each other often. She was a chatty Viking, and a splendid swordfighter, and she was the only person he knew who could make Astrid mad faster than Snotlout did.

Hiccup squirmed a bit, trying to get more comfortable on his chair (which was actually just a large animal-hide bag filled with bird feathers).

The Bog Burglars was the tribe closest to the Hairy Hooligans, along with the Meatheads. Hiccup wondered how Thuggery the Meathead was doing as well. He was the Meathead Heir, and he was a lot more heir-like than Hiccup himself, not that Hiccup minded (much). He reminded Hiccup of Snotlout, just a lot nicer. Hiccup often wondered if Snotlout would be just as mean to him if he wasn't the Hairy Hooligan Heir.

Hiccup hadn't heard from neither Thuggery nor Camicaze for a while, actually. Neither liked writing or reading (Hiccup sometimes wondered if Thuggery could at all.), so Hiccup had never sent them anything by messenger bird. Maybe he should send one to Camicaze, to ask when if she was coming to the Summer Festival this year. And one to Thuggery, just to see if he could reply.

Hiccup squirmed again, feeling strangely uncomfortable. He thought about it a bit, and realized why. He was used to leaning on Toothless for warmth and support on nights like this. He stood up and placed his plate on the table for his father. Suddenly, he wasn't very hungry. He started climbing the stairs.

Up in his room, Hiccup felt that empty feeling again as he lay on his bed. He tossed and he turned, but like the cold draft that was always in his room, the empty feeling wouldn't go away. He sat up, and held his head in his hands. He knew he relied on Toothless for a lot of things, but this was ridiculous! Couldn't he do _anything_ without the Night Fury anymore?

'_You can walk,'_ His mind whispered. And that made Hiccup feel ten times worse. He lay back down on his bed, now wide awake, and waited for Toothless to come home on his own. When he left Their Lake, he could tell that Toothless had needed some time for himself, though Hiccup didn't know why.

'_When he's ready, he'll come home,'_ Hiccup thought._ 'I'll apologize, and things would go back to normal'_

But, somehow, that didn't make him better _at all_. In fact, it made him feel _worse_. Why on earth did it make him feel _worse_?

For hours, he just laid there, thinking. He moved to rest on his side, and noticed that he couldn't even look at his wall anymore without being reminded of Toothless. The Night Fury had always slept against the wall. Hiccup recalled, with mixed feelings, how the dragon had wrapped himself around Hiccup in his sleep, as if trying to protect the boy even while resting. As he lied there, Hiccup heard his father come through the front door, and peek into his room, but made no move, content to let his dad think he was sleeping.

Hiccup thought some more. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't _want_ things to go back to the way they were. He thought, and he thought, and finally couldn't take it anymore. He'd thought about it enough. Now was the time for action. He slept not a wink that night, and by the crack of dawn, he was ready.

**A/N:** I think it would behoove people to reread the previous chapters. I made some changes. ^_^

I have a question, do I end my chapters strangely? I've just now noticed that they end kind of…weird. Is it just me? Also, do I use Hiccup and Toothless's names too much? I just find it a bit awkward to refer to them by the color of their anything or something, so I'm always using their names.

This is the longest chapter so far. They seem to be getting longer as we get closer to the climax of the story.

Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone who took the time to read, and hugs for everyone who reviewed. :D I don't think I'll ever get used to the idea that people other than myself like reading what I've written. 3


	5. Happy

Title: Gonna be Happy

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Disclaimer: I do not own, this is true. I make no money, please don't sue.

The people of Burk were brave. Not just 'brave-for-the-sake-of-the-greater-good' brave, but 'let's-surf-volcano-lava-on-dragon-backs-because-it-looks-fun' brave. That said, none of them wanted to get in the way of a near-hysterical Night Fury.

Toothless, fed up with waiting for Hiccup to apologize, had decided to go to the boy and _make_ him apologize. He'd marched up to their house and poised to throw open the door (hoping Stoick wasn't inside, otherwise he was _dead_ for being so careless with the furniture). He opened the door and wished Stoick _had_ been there. The home that greeted him was cold and empty. The hearth contained only white ashes. Hiccup's scent was muted and so was Stoick's, as if neither had been there in a while.

Toothless stood at the threshold, as his mind ran wild with possibilities.

'_Maybe he's at that house…'_ the dragon tried to calm himself. _'That boy…what's-his-face?... Fisheggs. Right.'_

Toothless ran helter-skelter through the village. It was extraordinary thing to see, a Night Fury running at full speed, but besides being too busy ducking and being used as a stepping stone, all people saw was a black blur.

Fishlegs opened the door to see what the commotion was all about, and nearly had a heart attack when Toothless dropped out from Nowhere to push his way into the house.

"T-Toothless?" Fishlegs asked, hand on his chest to keep it from bursting. "What happened? Is Hiccup Alright?"

Toothless paid him no mind, sniffing the air in the house, but Hiccup's scent here was staler than it had been at home. He left as quickly as he came, leaving Fishlegs scratching his head. One by one, he went to the houses of the other humans that spent time with Hiccup or Stoick, but some of _their _houses were empty, and none of them contained Hiccup or Stoick.

'_I knew this was coming,'_ Toothless told himself, even though he hadn't. Why did Hiccup leave? Without even saying goodbye? Toothless knew he'd left willingly; there wasn't a single sign of struggle in that house that used to be his, no-- _their_ home. And there wasn't a single Viking looking for him. Hiccup had left, and he hadn't even said goodbye.

Was it his fault? He would have worn the box-thing, if only Hiccup had asked. He'd only reacted like that because…because it reminded him of the fact that he was defective, a dragon that couldn't even fly on his own. He couldn't protect Hiccup as well as he deserved. It reminded him that while Hiccup had helped him fly again, he hadn't helped Hiccup walk again, merely caught him when he fell.

He would have worn it, even if he knew it meant that Hiccup wanted to replace himself with a cold metal box. He'd made his intentions clear. Hiccup had spent less and less time with him, working on the box, so he could leave Toothless without any guilt, and get on with his life. And Toothless didn't want that. A tailfin had been a fair exchange (he got the better end of the deal, actually) for meeting Hiccup, and he wasn't letting his human go without a fight.

Except, in the end, it was Hiccup's decision, not his. While he would trade the skies for a chance to stay by Hiccup's side (his happiness), he'd trade it all for his human, for Hiccup's chance at happiness.

Even if Hiccup's happiness didn't involve him.

He walked to Their Lake, dejected. He was mildly curious to see Astrid waiting there. Maybe she didn't know that Hiccup was gone. He ignored her and kept on walking until he reached Hiccup's Safe Keeping Boulder. He peeked inside.

'_His things are still here.'_

Feeling both a little bit better and a lot worse, he laid down. For a long while, neither he nor Astrid moved. But when the sun began to set, she walked over to him. He was too depressed to care as she fiddled with his fake fin. She could take it, if she wanted.

"Hiccup wanted you to have this." She said. Toothless felt the weight of the metal box thing on his tail.

/_Nope,_/ He said, although he knew she couldn't understand. The only one who understood him was Hiccup. His human.

/_Still Don't Care._/

The girl sighed, and shivered as a cold gust of wind blew around them. She left, muttering to herself.

"…told him this would happen…"

For seven days, Toothless stayed there, not moving an inch. The only signs that he was alive and awake were his sad eyes that looked at nothing, and his slow breathing. Hiccup's friends brought him fish every day, but he wasn't hungry.

For seven days, he stayed there, but on the eighth, something happened. He smelled Hiccup's scent! Toothless got up, trying to find out where it was coming from. He was just about to give up and declare himself insane when Stormfly landed, smelling like Hiccup. Stormfly was Camicaze's dragon, which was the only reason he wasn't (too) jealous.

/_Toothless!_/ Stormfly said. /_I overheard what happened!_/

'_Great,'_ Hiccup thought. Already, news of Hiccup in the market for a new dragon was spreading.

/_Wonderful._/ Was Toothless's sarcastic reply.

Stormfly was clearly very, very tired, so she drank some water and settled down before she continued.

/_No, Not Wonderful! You should go over to there! Hiccup's staying with Camicaze._/ She said.

By this time, Toothless was more than a little bewildered. It didn't _sound_ like Hiccup was in trouble, or Stormfly would have opened with that. Did…did Hiccup want him back? His heart leapt.

/_Now,_/ Stormfly was saying. /_ I'll push Astrid onto your saddle. She can control your fin, right?_/

But Toothless wasn't listening. As Stormfly went on, he spread his wings and leapt into the sky.

/Thank you!/ He called out behind him, before flying full speed to the island of the Bog Burglars.

/_HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?_/ Stormfly called out, but Toothless was already gone. She decided to rest a bit, and eat a few of those tasty looking fish before following the Night Fury. At a much slower pace.

**A/N:** My god, how much longer can I drag this fic out? It was supposed to be a oneshot! Also, just to be clear, predators like Toothless can probably go long times without eating. Even zoo kept lions are only fed around once a week. Toothless is much more awesome than any old lion!

Anyway, I'm still surprised this is getting as many views as it does. It's surprising, but makes me happy on the inside.

As always, feedback is what I need to keep writing and improve! Thanks for reading!


	6. Finally

Title: Finally

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Disclaimer: I do not own, this is true. I make no money, please don't sue.

It took a few hours of flying nonstop, but Toothless reached Camicaze's as the sun was drawing closer to the horizon. Camicaze herself was sitting outside behind her home, cleaning fish. On her, Toothless could faintly but clearly (and most importantly, _recently_) smell the scent of his human, his Hiccup.

He dropped out from the sky, deftly landing beside her. If she was surprised, she didn't show it. She just kept on cleaning her fish. Toothless was mildly surprised at her silence. She was usually a much noisier person. He moved to enter her house, was about to open the door, when she asked,

"What took you so long? He's been sadder than a dead dog without you."

Toothless turned to her, his posture saying 'sorry', while his face said 'confused'. Camicaze laughed.

"Aren't we all?"

Normally, with his goal so close, Toothless wouldn't be stopping for anyone (with only one obvious exception), but this small girl, smaller than his own human even, had saved them both more than once. He owed her that much; he owed her enough to at least listen every time she spoke. The familiar sound of her voice calmed him, actually. She had always been one of the first to accept him, to offer a petting hand or a delicious fish. Suddenly, that made Toothless sad. Because she _wasn't_ the first. Only one person was ever the first.

Toothless must have been very preoccupied with his thoughts, because he didn't expect it when the door behind him opened.

"Hey, Camicaze, I saw Stormfly's saddle, and I thought—"

Hiccup looked at Toothless. Toothless looked at Hiccup. Camicaze looked at neither of them, going back to cleaning her fish, still unusually silent. Toothless looked some more. Hiccup looked some more. They stared at each other for a moment that lasted forever. Then, Hiccup ran! Toothless was too startled to do anything but watch, at first. Hiccup had _never_ run away from him. Yet, there it was, and Toothless had no choice. He followed.

Keep in mind that, at this point, Hiccup still wasn't completely used to only having a leg and a half, and that he'd never been the fastest runner in Burk with two. So, despite his head start, he didn't manage to get beyond the fence that stood outside Camicaze's house before Toothless (carefully) tackled him to the ground.

"Toothless, get off!" Hiccup yelled.

/_Sorry!_/ Toothless replied. He got off hurriedly, worried that he'd hurt Hiccup somehow, and was relieved to find that the boy was just a little scuffed up. Suddenly, Hiccup leaped away, shakily holding a sword between them. Toothless shook his head in surprise. He hadn't even noticed that Hiccup had one. To be honest, he wasn't really expecting him to have one. But there it was, between them and very much pointed in his direction.

"Go home, Toothless. Don't make me have to hurt you." Hiccup's voice trembled.

Toothless snorted disbelievingly, and moved forward. To do what, he didn't know, but it definitely involved being close to his human. This was the longest they'd been apart since the longest time they'd been apart and Toothless didn't know how much longer he could take not being by Hiccup's side.

/_That hurts!_/ Toothless screeched as Hiccup lashed out with the sword. He was clumsy, and could barely swing it, but it left a visible scratch. It was a small one, not even drawing blood (Toothless bit his tongue worse than that.), but to him, it felt like Hiccup had come and stabbed right through his heart.

Some of that must have shown on his face, because Hiccup dropped the sword and fled into the house. Toothless approached the door cautiously, hearing Hiccup still on the other side.

/_What did I do?_/ Toothless leaned on the door. /_Is it too much to ask…what I did?_/

"Go away Toothless. Go home." Hiccup's voice came from the other side of the door.

/_Home? What home? It's not home without you, Hiccup._/

"Just go back to Burk. Please."

/_and then what? What kind of life do you think I'll have without you?_/

"You can fly on your own now, you don't need me. Go _home_, Toothless."

/_NO._/ Toothless paused. /_Is it because I can't fly without this box?_/

"What? No! Just, please, Toothless, just go home…"

/_I'm sorry I couldn't save your leg. I tried, I really did—_/

"It's not that, it's not—"

/_Please come back to Burk, Hiccup. I promise I won't I won't be _too_ jealous if you want to ride another dragon…_/

"What's _wrong _with you?" Hiccup was finally fed up. "Just go home, you useless reptile!"

Toothless got angry as well. /_Not until you tell me why, you selfish little—_/

"This isn't for me! You're the selfish one here, not me!"

Toothless could tell he was crying. _'Twenty one years old, and he still can't stop crying he gets too upset.'_

"You stupid reptile, this isn't for me. It's for _you._" Hiccup sobbed. "It's for your own good."

Toothless was shocked.

/_For me? I must be stupid, because I can't see how this is for me. How _dare_ you leave me, without so much as a hint of goodbye, and tell me it's for me!_/

Toothless had had enough. He whirled around and gave the door a good solid thump, telling Hiccup to get out of the way, before he tore it off its hinges.

/_You wretch!_/ Toothless pounced on the boy, holding him down. Tears streaks marked freckled cheeks, and Toothless swore the bags under his eyes were worse.

/_What the hell were you thinking? In which of the nine worlds is my life better without you?_/ Toothless was furious. /_Tell me! You _owe_ me that much._/ He'd tried to understand, he really did, but this— this—

"I'm a burden." Hiccup sobbed quietly. He couldn't look Toothless in the eyes.

"I'm weak, and helpless, and you deserve better. You jerk." Hiccup hit Toothless on the chest with his fist, but both of them knew his heart wasn't in it.

"Did you honestly think I left because _I thought I could do better?_" Hiccup was really crying now, half shouting his words even as he choked on them.

"I shot you out of the sky that night, did you know that? So I tried to give you back what I took from you, at least give back what you gave me, but I just _can't_, Toothless." Hiccup wiped angrily at his eyes.

"I tried, and I tried, and you know I'd _give up my other leg_ to make you happy, but I'm useless, just like they said I was."

Hiccup gave a final sniff and ran his sleeve across his eyes before scrambling up to stand in front of the stunned dragon.

"So just go already." He pointed out the broken door. Toothless looked at him, and couldn't help it.

He started laughing.

It started as hysterical laughter, but it grew from relief, and eventually morphed into laughter of pure mirth. Toothless was incredibly and inexplicably happy.

On the other hand, Hiccup was stunned. And livid.

"You— You—!"

He stomped off. Figures. He poured his heart and soul out to a useless dragon and this was the thanks he—

/_Wait!_/ Toothless tackled him from behind. Again. Only this time, he didn't let go. Hiccup was enveloped in a cocoon made of Night Fury, warm and suddenly at peace, despite the fact that he could still hear the dying rumbles of Toothless's laughter somewhere above him.

/_The two of us make quite a pair, don't we?_/ Toothless crooned quietly. /_I was so convinced that you'd left me for another dragon. Or at least to look for one._ /

"This was all your fault, you know." Hiccup murmured sleepily. He hadn't slept very well since he'd left Burk. "If you'd just worn the stupid flying aide, non of this would have happened."

/It's a useful invention, I agree./ Toothless yawned. /But it could never replace you./

"Darned right it can't." Now it was Hiccup's turn to yawn as he shifted to get more comfortable. Toothless did the same

"You can't pack as much raw Viking-ness as I have into such a package."

/And it wouldn't have given me nearly as much trouble./

The two of them stayed like that for a while, listening to the sound of each other's voices until they fell asleep. And that was how Camicaze found them hours later.

"Nuts. Both of them are nuts."

But she didn't want to disturb them. She'd make Hiccup fix her door tomorrow.

**A/N:** So It's done. I can't tell whether I'm happy or sad. This chapter gave me the most trouble, and I can't help but feel that it can be better, but when I get too anal when it comes to writing, the chapter just never gets done.

Also, for anyone who's curious, Hiccup could barely understand a word Toothless was saying, even though Toothless could understand him. Try rereading it, but substitute just key words and facial expressions from Toothless and it would still work.

So here. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

As always, feedback is much appreciated. Hugs and Kisses!


	7. Epilogue

Title: Better

Summary: Hiccup tries to make things better and Toothless isn't having any of it, but when push comes to shove, do they have what it takes to go the distance?

Hiccup wiped his hands on his black cloak. It was Toothless' idea (he claimed wearing a black cloak would heighten dramatic effect, though not in as many words. The exact words he used were "Here. Wear."). His palms were sweating like crazy. He looked around at the crowd around him, pressing in from all sides. The idea of having to perform in front of all of them made him want to throw up. Just a little bit.

He took a shaky breath.

/_Are you okay?_/ Asked Toothless. The Night Fury landed beside him, creating some breathing room in the otherwise teeming crowd. Slowly, the lightheaded feeling left Hiccup. He patted the dragon's back.

/Hiccup fine./ He replied. Replying in Dragonese earned Hiccup a few curious glances (It _was_ a curious sounding language, and the very devil to learn.), but Hiccup didn't mind.

It was the Festival of the Green Death, a morbid sounding affair, but it was actually to celebrate the day the dragons and the people of Burk found peace. It had been five years, making this the fourth festival. Hiccup looked around.

'_I didn't think there would be this many people here.'_ He thought. People from all tribes had come, some of them with their own dragons.

"Hiccup!" came a cry from somewhere in the crowd. Hiccup saw the crowd parting before he actually saw Camicaze's wild blond hair.

"Camicaze!" He greeted her right back, though he was still a little embarrassed from the whole fight with Toothless he'd had in her house. He had, _of course_, replaced her door, and the girl had invited him to break more of her furniture.

"I hear you're going to enter the flying competition today! That's a first! But I hope you know you don't stand a chance. Me and Stormfly have been practicing for _ages_ and you don't look like you've practiced at all. I mean, look at you, you look ridiculous! What is _with_ your clothes? Did someone die? Can you—"

"Camicaze, hi!" Fishlegs approached the two them, Horrorcow ambling lazily beside him.

"Hey Fisheggs!" Camicaze said.

"I told you, it's Fish_legs_."

Camicaze looked down. "Doesn't look like it to me."

"Hey Guys!" Astrid waved from across the crowd. She swung herself onto her dragon Gunter (Which Hiccup thought was a weird name for a girl dragon, but then he had Toothless, so he wasn't one to cast stones.). The Deadly Nadder hopped over the crowd, stepping on some Vikings who appeared not to mind too much.

As Astrid approached, Snotlout and the Thorston Twins muscled their way through the crowd (Which was starting to get much thinner around them, what with all the dragons so close together) and Hiccup could just see Thuggery coming out from behind a food stall.

Hiccup just sort of basked in the conversation, as his friends chatted among themselves. His friends. It still sounded weird to him! Toothless, on the other hand, was having a grand time, showing off his new tailfin made of shed dragon skin from Stormfly and the flying aide attached to it. Hiccup had made more and more tweaks to it as soon as Toothless became comfortable with the idea. It still wasn't perfect (It would never be perfect to Hiccup, it seemed), and it still didn't compare to having hiccup work the pedals, but it was definitely better than before. Today he had polished it to a bright gleam for the competition.

"Will all the contestants for The Dragon Flying Competition go to the beach now please?" yelled Gobber the Belch at the top of his lungs. Immediately, _everyone_ started walking in the beach's general direction. Everyone wanted to watch.

"That's our cue, Toothless." Hiccup said as he mounted his dragon. His friends did the same and proceeded down to the beach. Truth be told, Hiccup was incredibly nervous. Some of the others had been competing since the beginning, but this was his first competition. The competition was half the dragon's skill and half the rider's which was why they had never entered. Before the flying aide, Hiccup couldn't do a simple standing on the saddle trick. But now he could.

/_We shall emerge victorious!_/ Toothless crowed, confident. /_They won't know what hit them!_/

'_Nice to know I'm not the only one nervous'_ Hiccup thought wryly.

_**PAGEBREAK**_

The competition this year was fierce. Astrid, in an incredible display of agility and split-second timing, did backflips on Gunter's back as the dragon corkscrewed through the air. Snotlout rode Firewyrm, his Monstrous Nightmare, bareback, _while she was on fire_, and he refused to tell anyone how he'd done it. As each contestant performed, Hiccup became more and more nervous.

'_What was I thinking?'_ He sweated. He couldn't even speak to large groups of people, _why_ did he think he could do this? The noise of the cheering was fraying his already raw nerves.

"Come on Toothless, let's get out of here, I don't think I can do this." Hiccup pulled at strap around his dragon's neck, trying to lead him away. But Toothless wasn't listening.

/_We're next!_/ He cried as the Thorston routine drew to a close. Hiccup swallowed as he mounted Toothless.

The Night Fury took off!, giving a screech that made everyone within earshot shiver. They did a few loop-de-loops to get started, and then corkscrewed in and out of the water. They gained height, and flew over the crowd, showering people with seawater as Toothless shot blue flames into the air. Then they flew back out to sea, and descended to the edge of the beach, creating patterns in the still water first with the tip of Toothless's wing, then the tip of Hiccup's finger as he hung precariously on the saddle's straps. The crowd was going wild.

/_Let's finish this!_/ Hiccup yelled to Toothless, adrenaline giving him confidence and making him reckless.

Suddenly they were climbing high into the air, Hiccup jumping through rings of fire Toothless made for him. Up they went, higher and higher, almost reaching the clouds. The people at the beach craned their necks to get a better look. The pair gradually slowed, and people saw Hiccup climbing onto his feet.

He stood in the saddle, arms outstretched. And slowly, ever so slowly, he leaned back. The crowd gasped as Hiccup fell away from Toothless. He plummeted towards the water, turning in somersaults, spinning, doing every possible thing you could think of while falling. Let it not be said that anyone fell better than Hiccup.

Toothless, as soon as Hiccup left his saddle, dove. Down to the sea he raced, overtaking Hiccup quickly, entering the water. The crowd held its breath as Hiccup drew near to the water's surface. At that height, the fall could be fatal.

But just as he was about to hit the water, Toothless shot out of it, catching Hiccup in his claws. He threw Hiccup into the air, and looped around so that Hiccup landed on his saddle, Not very steady on his feet, but standing nonetheless. Hiccup sat down as they went back, routine finished, proud of himself and Toothless as they glided back to shore.

In the end, it was Camicaze who won, with Hiccup coming to a close second. He guessed he just couldn't beat someone who could juggle swords her dragon had set on fire while standing on one foot as her dragon changed colors to match the sunset.

"I _told_ you no one else had a chance!" Camicaze yelled over the crowd around them as she gave Hiccup a hard congratulatory slap on the back.

"Didn't doubt it for a second." Hiccup gasped in pain. After accepting the many backslaps, manly handshakes, and a hug from his father, he slipped away to Their Lake, where Toothless was already waiting.

As soon as Hiccupe caught sight of Toothless, he ran to his dragon's side.

"We did it!" Hiccup was still ecstatic at not being dead.

/_Did you ever doubt it?_/ Toothless asked, amused.

The two them sat there for a while, the wind carrying the sounds of the continuing festival as the stars started coming out on the rare summer night. They spoke not a word, content to sit in companionable silence, the same thought drifting through their heads.

We did _great_.

**N/A:** Just an epilogue I thought would be fun to write. I'm thinking of making a sequel to this, but I'm still not entirely sure. What do you think?

As always, thank you for reading, and I would appreciate feedback!

Update: I decided to do a sequel! Please see my profile for a story entitled 'There'


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